Written by Jennifer Jamieson – Magical Tripcations Travel Planner A trip to Disney World is definitely magical but there are also plenty of opportunities to add extra magic during your stay. From special character meals to behind the scenes tours to spa treatments and dessert parties, there is plenty to choose from when looking to celebrate a special occasion or just for an extra bit of fun! Today we’d like to highlight the Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party at Disney’s Hollywood studios as we found it to be an out of this Disney world experience and put our trip to this park into hyper drive! The Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party is a special ticketed event meaning that there is an extra ticket that is purchased in addition to the regular park admission to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Currently, the cost is $79 per adult (10 and over) and $45 per child (3 to 9) including tax and gratuities. The party ticket includes an array of delectable desserts (all you care to enjoy savory and sweet treats) and specialty drinks – alcoholic beverages for those over 21 or soft drinks, coffee and water, too – to be enjoyed in a setting inspired by the films and surrounded by movie props inside Star Wars Launch Bay. Guests check-in for the party just outside Launch Bay in the Animation Courtyard. We arrived about 20 minutes before the party started to check-in and we were greeted by Cast Members who gave us instructions along with special lanyards to wear allowing us to enter and easily come and go as...

Written by Maritza Navarro – Magical Tripcations Travel Planner If you have a princess-obsessed little one and want to meet them at Walt Disney World, here are some tips and tricks that have been learned over several Walt Disney World vacations: Tip 1 – Character Meals The easiest way to meet princesses quickly is to book a princess themed character meal. The most coveted of these is Cinderella’s Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom which is based on availability for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. There you will meet and take a formal photo with Cinderella and meet four other princesses at your meal. Another option is at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, located in the Norway Pavilion inside the World Showcase at EPCOT. This is based on availability for either breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You will take a formal photograph with Belle in her yellow gown and then meet four other princesses at your meal. Another option to consider for a princess meal, on a smaller scale, is at Trattoria al Forno at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn. There you will meet Rapunzel and Princess Ariel, along with Flynn Rider, and Prince Eric. This is only available for breakfast and it’s a delicious meal. The final option is at 1900 Park Fare (dinner only) inside the Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, where you will meet Cinderella, Prince Charming, Cinderella’s step-sisters, Anastasia and Druzella, and Lady Tremaine, Cinderella’s step-mother. This is such a fun dinner with amazing character interactions. If you are on either the Disney Dining Plan or the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan, all of these options would be...

Written by Erica V. Ellis – Magical Tripcations Travel Planner Disney vacations are special and magical, no matter when you take them. Add a birthday to the mix and it becomes even more magical! Here are our Top 5 ways to celebrate your birthday while at Walt Disney World! Let your Magical Tripcations Travel Planner know that you’ll be celebrating a birthday while on vacation! Your planner will add that tidbit of information on to your reservation. When you scan your Magic Bands at park entrances, for fast passes, etc., the cast members will be alerted to this. You’ll probably get lots of extra “happy birthdays” during your stay. If you aren’t given a birthday button at check-in, make sure you ask for one at your Disney Resort’s front desk or at any of the guest service locations at the parks. Once you have it, wear it proudly! It’s always fun to hear “happy birthday” from cast members and park goers. Who knows, maybe you’ll get some extra pixie dust because of it! Talk to your Magical Tripcations Travel Planner about a special gift package or room celebration through Disney Floral & Gifts. It can be as simple as a small cake in your room, or a full-on room makeover to help you celebrate the special day. Prices vary and can satisfy pretty much any budget. For my daughter’s third birthday we ordered her a special Princess Gift Basket and a small chocolate cake that was delivered to our room the evening of her birthday. When we arrived back to our room, the surprise was waiting for her and...

Written by Erica V. Ellis – Magical Tripcations Travel Planner Have you heard that Walt Disney World has started the “Highway In The Sky Dine-Around” which, according to the Walt Disney World website, allows you to climb “aboard the Walt Disney World Resort Monorail for a culinary journey where each destination offers a distinctively delicious experience.” We at Magical Tripcations are excited to see this new Disney Dining experience being offered to guests! For now, it is only being offered a few nights a week, so what if you can’t make your itinerary work for one of those nights but you still want to eat and drink your way around the “Monorail Loop”? Well, don’t you worry, we have your back! In September, during a “research” trip to Walt Disney World during the first weekend of the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival four travel planners from the Magical Tripcations team took a spin on the Monorail and here we offer our findings from the evening filled with delectable foods, yummy drinks, plenty of laughs and fireworks to cap off the evening! This journey is also sometimes referred to as the “Monorail Crawl.” **Disclaimer, we recommend this be done with a 21 & over crowd.** We were coming from Epcot so we disembarked the Epcot Monorail and loaded onto the Resort Monorail at the Ticket and Transportation Center. From there we hit up our first stop, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. We arrived at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto around 4:45pm on a Thursday afternoon and found there to be available space. We hopped up on some bar...

Written by Erica V. Ellis – Magical Tripcations Travel Planner Are you contemplating a trip to Walt Disney World with a toddler? Has the idea of taking someone under the age of 3 also made you question your sanity? Fear not, there are some great reasons why taking your toddler to Walt Disney World before they turn 3 is an awesome idea. We have polled our Magical Tripcations Travel Team and come up with tips that will help you not only stay sane but have a very memorable and magical time! FREE TICKET – Did you know that children under the age of 3 do not require a park ticket? That’s right, they are considered an infant until they turn 3 and are free of charge to enter any of the Disney Parks. Please note, if you work with one of our Magical Tripcations Travel Planners to create a vacation package that includes a dining plan, they will NOT be included in that plan, so your child would either eat off of your plate or you would need to pay out of pocket for them during meal time. 5 Can Stay for the Price of 4 – Did you know that a portion of Disney’s Resorts have a maximum occupancy of 4 in a room? If you are a Party of 5, in which one is under the age of 3, you still have the option of staying in resort room with a maximum occupancy of 4. Your toddler (under the age of 3) does not count towards the total number of occupants in a room. ...

Written by Jennifer Jamieson – Magical Tripcations Travel Planner Your first trip to Disney World can be a truly magical and memorable one but take it from us, planning is a must! Even if you’ve been before but it’s been a few years, read on as so much has changed that you might find yourself bewildered and late for a very important date! Disney World is huge and spans 40 square miles (roughly the size of San Francisco) and has 4 theme parks (6 if you count the 2 water parks). And navigating through the transportation, parks, FastPass+, My Disney Experience App, restaurants, fireworks and shows can be a little daunting and a big waste of time if you’re not prepared! Good news is there are lots of tools that can help you along the way and we hope that our tips and tricks can help you get started. Having the honor of planning countless trips for our Magical Tripcations clients has given our team an edge when it comes to the ins and outs of heading to the most magical place on earth. Check out our top 10 tips for your first trip to Disney World. 10. Stay at a Disney World Resort With more that 25 unique Resort hotels, there is likely one that will fit your needs and budget. Staying on property is well worth it and not as expensive as you may think. Our team of travel planners have stayed at hotels both on and off property and hands down recommend staying on the resort property. Disney has various resort levels ranging in price from...